About

About the comic:

Empires of Steam is a steampunk(ish) webcomic, set in an alternate 1860 where Automatons are common and secrets are commoner. Tom Jeffries, a wealthy industrialist, professor of engineering, and head of a major Automaton development company, finds himself dealing with an outpouring of the secrets his mentor and adoptive father, Harold Shellers, was holding onto when his will is read. Tom is swept into a current of secret organizations, powerful technology, and personal grudges, and has to find a way to handle the responsibility Harold has passed down to him without allowing the world around him to crumble.

The comic was started in early 2008, then posted online later that year. Since then, many of the pages have been redrawn or relettered, to better unify the look of the art.

About the author:

Chris Downey is an independent illustrator in central New York. He's been updating Empires of Steam (albeit slowly) for the past eight years. He graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2012 with a BA in Graphic Design, specializing in illustration. Drawing comics for a living has been his lifelong dream, and it's something he works towards every day. He lives with his girlfriend, who also works on her own comic project, Transplanted. When he isn't writing or drawing, he is usually either at his day job, reading, or playing video games. He can be contacted at chris.downey.yenwod.sirhc@gmail.com.